Sleep issues are something that we’ll all experience at some point in our lives. Whether you have trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep or have a restless sleep the end result is the same – you’ll wake up feeling exhausted in the morning.

Insomnia can be divided into two categories. Sleep onset insomnia is when you have trouble falling asleep. It should only take 5-15 minutes to fall asleep – anything more than this and you have a problem. Often we have patients that take hours to fall asleep, which cuts into their valuable sleep hours.

Sleep maintenance insomnia is where you wake up during the night – usually multiple times and have difficulty going straight back to sleep. Interruptions in your sleep, even if briefly, disrupt the waves in your sleep cycle and don’t allow you to get a proper rest.

Many people have both sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia, which of course leaves them feeling floored in the morning.

Sleep issues lead to fatigue and mood issues.

It is critical to fix your sleep issues because sleep is the time that your body does most of it’s healing. While you sleep your body is regenerating its cells, balancing your hormones, detoxifying and processing your memories from the day. Sleep deprivation causes weight gain, fatigue, depression and hormonal issues. Without adequate sleep we simply cannot heal.

So is there a natural cure for insomnia?

Naturopathy is perfect for the treatment of insomnia because it works on the underlying cause. Sleep issues are caused by 3 main areas:

Stress – leading to a disruption in the sleep-wake cycle

Fatigue – you actually need energy to initiate sleep so fatigue can mean you don’t sleep well

Neurotransmitter deficiency – a reduction in the production of serotonin, melatonin or GABA can interfere with your sleep

Our naturopaths use herbs and nutrients that work on these areas which works amazingly well to correct your sleep. Improvements in sleep can be seen in as little as 2 weeks, with most of our patients curing their insomnia within 3 months. Herbs that support your body in dealing with stress and repairing your adrenal glands, the glands that secrete your stress hormones, is a huge help. They will also assess you for neurotransmitter issues and correct these using nutritional support.

We also recommend that our clients focus on improving their ‘sleep hygiene’, which involves the following:

Go to bed at the same time every night, preferably between the hours of 9pm and 10pm. Also, wake up at the same time each day, preferably between the hours of 5am and 6am. This will help to reset your sleep-wake cycle.

Stop looking at screens before bed – it sends signals to your brain that it is daytime. This means no iphone or TV at least an hour before bedtime. Do not use your phone in bed!

Dim the lights – use lamps at least an hour before bed to let your body know it’s close to snooze time.

Move your body immediately on rising. Run on the spot or do a few star jumps. This lets your body know you’re awake and helps to reset the sleep wake cycle.

Lay off the caffeine after 12pm – it stimulates your adrenal glands and can prevent your body winding down for sleep.

Hypnotherapy and sleep

Hypnotherapy is also a great solution for sleep – particularly when you can’t switch off your mind. For patients with chronic or severe sleep issues a combination of hypnotherapy and naturopathy is perfect to get speedy results.

Hypnotherapy helps you to release any subconscious emotions and worry that could stop you from being in a restful state. You can also get hypnotherapy CDs that can help to continue the process once you’re out of the office.

Anne-Marie & the whole team at BNH has been absolutely wonderful in helping me to understand my range of seemingly unrelated symptoms. I feel so supported and am eternally grateful for the Health Reboot program so far (only 10 weeks in). It has already been so transformational and my increased health & vitality has allowed me to start feeling like myself again. Thank you!!read more

Lovely staff. I had an excellent massage with Sarah. A very professional organisation with a wide range of options for improving your health. They have clearly put a lot of effort into getting the best people to work in the practice which is the sign of a great business.
A little in the expensive side, but that is not surprising given the quality of the staff and the results (and they are in the health industry).read more

BNH is an incredibly experienced and professional Natural Health Provider. They look into every aspect of your health concerns and guide you through each process or treatment with expert advise and sensitivity. I have been a very happy customer for quite some time and plan to be long into the future. I recommend these amazing people to anyone looking for the best in Brisbane and surrounds. I have so much gratitude for their caring, genuine service. Thank you, Mirjanaread more

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the mere existence of BNH! I cannot believe what an amazing impact your beautiful clinic has had on me. Gemma is simply wonderful - I can't stress enough how brilliant it has been seeing someone so positive and knowledgeable. At no point have I ever felt while at BNH that I’m not ‘fixable’…I have felt incredibly supported and listened to at every step. It has been so encouraging not to hear a sigh followed by a ‘not a lot we can do!’, as has been typical from many doctors I have seen. I love the confidence Gemma has that I can and will heal...Makensi too has been superb! I’m moving back to Scotland after Christmas and am so incredibly sad to leave the clinic at the beginning of my health journey...but the lessons I have learned so far have been invaluable and empowered me to continue getting better. I now KNOW I can feel better and I won’t stop until I’m where I want to be. I plan to make the most of the next few weeks of my membership, I just love the workshops and extra services your clinic provides. So again, thank-you thank-you thank-you for creating a simply wonderful place to learn and heal.read more

I am still on my journey with Brisbane Natural Health, but I can do nothing but highly recommend the whole team at BNH - from the girls at reception, to my Naturopath Anne-Marie & my acupuncturist Angela, I really feel like I am on the path to wellness. I love their holistic approach and every time I have an appointment I feel valued and listened to. It is comforting to know that the changes I am making in my life are supported and aided by BNH.read more

BNH is a lovely, caring and professional team. I recommend them to anyone looking to take care of their health and understand nutrition/their body better. They have a great range of services all of which I have found to be really helpful on my own health journey. read more

A few days ago, my son wrote a review for BNH which does not necessarily reflect my experience. His opinion responds to his perception as an observer of my progress and I can understand his frustration when he didn’t see happening what he was expecting to happen, but my opinion is not the same as his since I did experienced improvement in my quality of life in general during my time with BNH.
Not only my physical health improved, but also my mental health did. During seven months, I attended Gemma’s consultations (naturopathy), hypnotherapy (with Jan) and Energy Healing (with Makensi) sessions that allowed me to acquire knowledge about myself and how to look after my body and mind and I will always be grateful to them.
It is true that in my case, after many years taking antidepressants and anxiolytics, the progress might seem slow and costly, but I understand that getting off these medications requires time, patience and discipline to accomplish the level of support my body and my mind need to function without the medication. Whether BNH’s services are expensive or not, depends of your budget and your own perception of the Cost-Benefit relationship. The way I see it, once you decide to embark on a BNH’s experience, you acquire a commitment with yourself and it is your responsibility to search benefit from all of what BNH and their professionals has to offer.
I suspended my membership with BNH because I moved to another country, but the benefits and the knowledge I obtained are part of my life now. I also follow them on ‘facebook’ and I learn from what they post, which is always worth to share.
I definitively recommend BNH.read more

Excellent massage from Lester in the clinic. He explained the techniques he was using when asked and gave me some ideas for self care and releasing at home. The usual 5 star service I've come to expect from all the team at Brisbane Natural Healthread more

"Treatments and practitioners have always exceeded my expectations and appear to fit in well with the rest of the practice. Best sign of faith is recommendation and I have no qualms in recommending friends and family." - A Banfield

My experience with Brisbane Natural Health has been fantastic. I also take my kids there and I would highly recommend this clinic to anyone seeking any kind of natural health practitioners. - Iwa Brown